Gran Turismo 5
(also known as GT5) is the fifth mainline edition of Sony/Polyphony Digital's racing video game series, Gran Turismo. Expanding on the Prologue version, which was first released in Japan in October 2007 and intended to give an impression of the final game, is the first of the main numbered series to be released for the PlayStation 3. The "Gull-Wing" Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG appears on the cover of all regions' versions of the game. As found in the Prologue, and for the first time in the numbered Gran Turismo series, the game features cars from Ferrari, including a few of their Formula One cars such as the Ferrari F2007 F1 World Championship car and the Ferrari F10 Race Car. No other current F1 cars feature in GT5 as of yet . In addition to Prologue features, it also includes the 'Top Gear' Test Track from the BBC motoring show Top Gear, and greatly expands on the number of cars available to according to the Offical GT5 Car List, as of the release of the latest car pack. There is also a 16 player online mode as in GT5 Prologue. The game features trophy support, for the first time in the series, and custom soundtracks. New to the series are NASCAR, WRC (World Rally Championship), and Super GT. (Most of the Super GT cars have their JGTC versions included as well) For the first time in the main series, an online mode is available in the game, with 16 player capability. Both mechanical and external damage exist, along with interior damage for 200 "premium" cars. Night racing makes a reappearance for GT5 on certain tracks, and weather effects are also included on a number of tracks. In an April 2008 interview, Kazunori Yamauchi revealed that 150 people had worked on Gran Turismo 5 for four years, with all of Polyphony Digital's 120 employees working on GT5, and the game costing 50 times more to develop ($60 million) than 1997's Gran Turismo. In a July 2008 interview with IGN, Yamauchi mentioned that at the time, Polyphony Digital was focused on updates for Gran Turismo 5 Prologue and that Gran Turismo 5 may not be released until 2010. Although in E3 of 2009 he revealed that he could release the game anytime he wants, he claims they are working out all the bugs. The game was eventually released on November 24th 2010. The game is supported by numerous racing wheels. The official wheel of the Game is Logitech's Driving Force GT. In the case if players own wheels compatable with previous titles, they can be used as well. Version history To date, there have been 17 individual updates to the GT5 software platform, downloaded automatically from the PlayStation Network. The current version number is 2.05. Gran Turismo 5: Spec 2.0 On October 11th 2011, Polyphony Digital released a large update to GT5, named Spec 2.0. This update adds several major additions to the game, including: *11 additional NASCAR vehicles (2011 models) *Interior views for standard models *Ability to suspend endurance events mid-race *Compatibility for future Downloadable Content (DLC). Polyphony then released what was to be the first set of many of DLC, containing the Spa-Francorchamps circuit and a Red Bull X2011 Prototype '11 amongst others, on October 18th 2011. :See List of Gran Turismo 5 Downloadable Content for full details. Game Modes Gran Turismo 5 consists of several game modes, accessed from the game's main menu. Vehicles No Gran Turismo game would be the same without a wide selection of cars and Gran Turismo 5 is no exception, sporting a total of . That's over 300 more than its predecessor. For a full list, see GT5 Car List. Tracks Gran Turismo 5 features circuits in locations, including the newly added Top Gear Test Track and Autodromo Nazionale Monza. For a full list, see GT5 Track List. Soundtrack As with previous Gran Turismo games, GT5 comes complete with a wide selection of music tracks, totalling 189, covering genres from rock to classical. The GT5 main theme is named "5OUL ON D!SPLAY", a title chosen from hundreds of titles suggested by Gran Turismo fans. For the first time in the series, Gran Turismo 5 features Custom Soundtracks, which allow players to play music from their own hard drive while playing offline. This feature was extended to include online play (only where voice chat was disabled) in the 1.06 update of February 2011.